2018 Sub-3. No rules. Run. (Read 792 times)

IAM - congrats on the race and nice RR!  That is a mind-boggling distance to run.

Andres - I was interested to see that the winner of the Houston Half was Jake Robertson, a New Zealander.  Looked like a pretty competitive field.  His twin brother Zane is also a runner and broke the national 5000m record at the Olympics in 2016. They live and train in Kenya.

Well, hell...

 

What am I gonna do this year?

I'm just gonna quote myself... because I am very quotable.

After a decent 9 weeks or so of consistent running (including my first 20 miler in about 18 months) I'm now convinced I can once again train properly for a marathon.  So.... I'm headed to Cincy in May to run the Flying Pig!  I ran it once before back in 2006 and actually ran a then PR of 3:32 and change.  I'm sure the course has changed, but I really enjoyed the city and the race atmosphere.  This being their 20th anniversary, they are also giving out commemorative finisher's jacket to all marathon finishers.  I could use a new jacket!

As I've had an extended break from distance running there are a lot of runners I haven't seen in years.  Looks like many of my old running friends will be joining me at the pig.  I am excited to see them, and to see what I can do...

Marathon #52 is on calendar.

Looks like a good group forming here! I'll try to be more active than I have been in the past 6 weeks or so.

Mark - I too was surprised when I saw the winner of the half was a Kiwi.  Interesting that there were 4 runners with sub 60 PR's, and the winner tied his PR with 1:00:01.  We have another Kiwi here in Houston that is big in the running scene still (at age 51 or 52).  He leads one of the groups I run with often on Saturdays.  Not sure if he did the half, or is working toward something else, but I saw that he ran a 10 mile workout a couple of weeks back in about 5:25 pace.  Regarding your running on the ski trip--be careful.  Running on small roads that are icy with tourist drivers who are not used to driving in those conditions could get dangerous super quick, it seems to me.

Lela - I hear you on the fresh start.  Seems like a good idea to think about it that way.  I obviously didn't have to deal with the great difficult challenges that come with producing a baby, but I did have the household changes after.  I didn't take running seriously until right after my third child was born, which at that point we had 3 under 3 at the house.  It certainly makes things more tolerable in the house with all the craziness going on if you can have an hour or so to yourself and your thoughts in the morning before the kids get up.

Weatherboy - too early to start obsessing about the temps in Orlando?  I really hope you get some good conditions, but regardless, looks like you're in for a huge PR.

IAM - Your a beast when it comes to racing long in the heat.  It's incredible on its own, but factor in your brutal winter training, and I just don't understand it.  Are you returning to the Caribbean to defend your title this year?  And yes, I'll be in Boston.  I am getting in on Sunday again, but actually staying until Tuesday this year.  No missing the bar this time.

My race this past weekend:

I was happy overall with the result (1:19:47 for the half).  My main takeaway from it is similar to what I suspected a week ago.  I just didn't have the leg strength to match my cardio at the moment.  I started about 8 weeks ago prepping for this race.  The goal was to match the workouts and weeks more or less as I had done them two years ago when I PR'd this race in 1:19:20.

Every one of my workouts was either slower than the year before (3) or a fail (3) where I didn't quite finish the workout, except for the last one.  I managed to just focus on my last workout, and convince myself I was in PR shape.

I started the race under perfect conditions (mid 30's, dry and just a slight breeze).  The first miles were fast, seeing 5:58 or so in the first, then miles around 5:53.  I still remembered what most of my splits were from 2 years ago, and this was the same course, so I knew I was ahead of schedule.  And I still felt great!

I came through the 10k in 37:02, and I knew that was about 12s faster than two years ago.  Still felt really good.  Mile 7 was a little bit slower, and that's when I noticed the group I had been running with (some elite women with men pacers running the full) started to slowly slip away.  It was a strange feeling.  My cardio seemed totally fine--I was breathing normally and felt like I still had enough to give a strong effort for the back half.  But I just couldn't seem to get my legs to move.

After mile 8, my splits started to slip more and more.  Each mile I had seen that my overall time (clock time, not net) was under 6 minute pace.  At mile 8 it got really close.  At mile 9 it was over, but just barely, so I thought I could still get to mile 10 with my watch time keeping me under 6.  Nope.  1:00:09.  I remember coming through the 10 mile marker 2 years ago at 1:00:30, and remember having a slow 11th mile, but then picking it up for 12 and 13.  This year I knew that wasn't likely.  Again, my breathing and cardio were fine, but I just couldn't get my legs to move.  Right about this point a group of women passed me and I thought I just needed to hold on to them.  Nope.

This is also were I ran by my house and saw my family.  That produced a little boost, but not enough to last.  I turned on to Allen Parkway and made my way downtown.  This is when I knew PR'ing wasn't going to happen, but I felt like I could keep things together enough to still get under 1:20.  Sure enough I was able to get that.

Looking at my HR data, it confirms what I thought.  My effort was right where I need it to be for the race, except I didn't see the drift at the end.  In my best executed half marathons, I tend to see a big drift after mile 8 or so, creeping up to the high 180's.  Here, it stayed consistent, even dropping a little after mile 8 through to the end before the final kick.

My legs just didn't have the strength to keep going.  Two years ago I nailed my workouts and was consistent in the weight room.  This year my workouts were not great, and I haven't been in the weight room since June.  That's just not going to cut it for me.  If I plan to race well, I need to get back to the weights.  Lesson learned. (Kram, I think it really was the lack of good workouts and weights more so than the mileage--I think the mileage was fine for a good half, for me anyway).

I will take this fitness and build on it for Boston.  I'm also willing to give a faster marathon a shot at this point. I'm hoping my training goes well enough to be ready to run something around 6:30 or a little faster.  And when Boston is 75 and sunny at the start, maybe I'll sneak under 3 again.

Hi Andres,

 

Great run for your Houston Half Marathon, even without a PR. I hope someday I will run a half at below 6 pace. PR is always something that you can hope for but rarely guaranteed. You'll get it next time.

 

Talk about guaranteed PR, it's actually not impossible possible 😀. I also ran Houston this past weekend, and I did the full, my first. I got 2:47:42. Quite happy with it, given my half PR at 1:21:03. Houston is a great race. I'll definitely come back.

Wowsers! That's an awesome debut. Sounds like you need to get out there and run a fast half now!

And I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Houston. I think it is great for a midsize race. It obviously doesn't compare to Boston/New York/Chicago (and others), but it's one of the best for the next tier down.

Well no wonder I thought the other thread was dead.  HAHA.

Love the bios they never get old.

IAM.  Filthy nasty 50 er this weekend.

I will comment more on others I just need to go back and catch up.

As for me. 39 year old male who swam at a pretty high level all through HS and college and then got lazy and did nothing for almost 10 years.  Hopped into a 5K in June of 2012 off of about 5 runs and was absolutely hooked.  Built up the mileage over that next year and then debut in 2:58 in Chicago in 2013 with a nice NS.  PR'd in the half big the following April and then ran 2:51 in Chicago in 2014.  Ran 2:51 in Boston in 2015 and then I hit the struggle bus for about 2 years.  Had a small half PR in January of 2016 but nowhere near where I thought I would be.  Tore my Achilles in April of 2016 and rehab d the hell out of it.  Then ran a really nice 2:48 with a NS in October of 2016.  Then ran a big Half PR in January of 2017.  Lost my Mom in March.  Put together arguably the cycle of a lifetime leading up to Boston in 2017 only to flop the hell out of the race.  Was almost killed in a car accident in May of 2017, which led to more time off.  I moved to Flagstaff this past July (7000 ft is no joke)  and put together another solid cycle only to get the very first stress fracture of my career 3 weeks before Richmond.  Was confident I could have run 2:42 that day based on how tasty the conditions were.  Had to take 7 weeks off.  Hired a new coach who was really excited about my potential at the marathon due to me underperforming.  He feels like its the lack of development in several systems that we are going to address.  Next race on the horizon is the Flagstaff Downtown mile on July 4th my 40th birthday where I would like to target the sea level equivalent of about 4:55 so 5:10-5:13 with the dream scenario of running what Nick Arciniaga ran last year which was 5:01.  Have a half lined up back in Chicago for October and then California International for December.

PR's 5K 17:09, Half 1:18;53, Full 2:48:27.  I have run a couple of TT's that are significantly faster then these but I don't count them.  Ive probably run more mileage then most recreational runners and I know that father time is probably not on my side.  Target goal times 5K 16:40 at next years BAA 5K, 1:16 half possibly in October, and then a couple of shots at 2:40.  Glad to be here. 

35 miles last week with some strength session and aqua jogging.  Got read the riot act by the new boss for running everyday since the comeback.

Brad and Parry - nice marathons.

Andre - nice RR.  The kiwi is a twin, his twin brother has a sub 60 PR.

Swim - welcome back.

Wow this thread is quite hot. I will post my bio when I return for real. Just wanted to pop in to congrats Andres! I've started rehab for my foot, but still no idea what is going on and why it's not improving. Pretty frustrating but will keep up at it. I did just sign up for NYC, so that cheered me up a bit.